SoftBank Commits $4B to the Infrastructure Behind AI

SoftBank Group is making another big move in AI, this time zeroing in on the infrastructure that does all the heavy lifting required to support it. The company has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge for approximately $4 billion, a deal that gives SoftBank a stronger footing in the data centers and connectivity needed to run AI at scale.

Under the deal, SoftBank will buy all outstanding DigitalBridge shares for $16.00 per share in cash. That price reflects a 15 percent premium over DigitalBridge’s December 26, 2025 closing price, and about 50 percent above its unaffected 52-week average as of December 4. 

Investors jumped in quickly, sending DigitalBridge shares up nearly 10 percent in premarket trading. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Why DigitalBridge fits into SoftBank’s AI strategy

DigitalBridge manages a global portfolio across data centers, fiber networks, towers, and edge infrastructure. As AI workloads grow, that mix becomes increasingly crucial, as they push beyond compute into connectivity and power.

“As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank. “… this acquisition will strengthen the foundation for next-generation AI data centers, advance our vision to become a leading ASI platform provider, and help unlock breakthroughs that move humanity forward.” 

After the deal closes, DigitalBridge will continue to operate as a separately managed platform led by CEO Marc Ganzi. He pointed to the added flexibility that comes with SoftBank’s backing, saying it will allow DigitalBridge to “accelerate our mission with greater flexibility, invest with a longer-term horizon on behalf of our investors, and better serve the world’s leading technology companies as they scale their AI ambitions.”

Infrastructure remains the bottleneck in AI adoption

This deal also lines up with what SoftBank has been spending its time and money on lately. Earlier this year, the company announced its $500 billion Project Stargate effort with partners like OpenAI and Oracle, aimed at building out hyperscale data center capacity across the U.S. That rollout has been evolving as locations and timelines get sorted out.

Forbes reports that global AI spending is expected to reach roughly $375 billion this year and grow to more than $3 trillion annually by 2030. This is, and will be driven by infrastructure, power generation, and data center expansion. As investment dollars continue to flow (or gush, rather…), the emphasis is changing from experimental AI models to the actual physical systems required to train, deploy, and operate them reliably.

For SoftBank, the DigitalBridge deal shines a spotlight on a reality the AI industry is running into fast. Ambition is no longer the constraint: infrastructure is. All the compute in the world only matters if the systems underneath it can actually keep up.

Recent moves across the industry point to the same pressure point. Intel’s reported interest in acquiring AI chipmaker SambaNova Systems shows how the focus is shifting toward the hardware needed to run AI at scale. That same shift shows up in the SoftBank/DigitalBridge deal, where the emphasis is less on models and more on the infrastructure underneath them.